


Best of Both Worlds

by owleyesx



Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: 18th Century, British, England - Freeform, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gen, Georgian Era, Georgian Period, Lord/Lady, Oral Sex, Recreational Drug Use, Romance, Sex, Smut, Tom Hardy/OFC - Freeform, Tom Hiddleston/OFC - Freeform, relationships, social classes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 18:46:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5138606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owleyesx/pseuds/owleyesx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lady Georgiana Balfour is the daughter of a Duke and Duchess in 18th Century Georgian England. She has alway srebelled against her social class and has confided in her best friend and family groundskeeper Tom Hardy. Her parents are pushing her to get married to a wealthy nobleman as her sisters have, but she is having difficulty coming to terms with the idea. Could Lord Hiddleston, a politician from London, that she meets by chance change her mind?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(NB For the purpose of the work, Tom Hardy will be aged 25 and Tom Hiddleston at current age of 34. I've tried to be historically accurate, but it's fanfic at the end of the day! Any comments/suggestions welcome.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

# Prefix

Eleven Years Earlier

“Tom! Tom!” A shrill, excitable voice pierced through another wise silent and still midsummer’s afternoon. 

A young girl of ten ran through the grounds of an impressively grandeur Georgian estate; her long dark hair shimmering in the sunlight as it swung from side to side. She was out of breath from her journey from the large stone steps leading from the house to the landscaped gardens, down a long gravel path that she now navigated to find the gamekeeper’s cottage on the edge of the estate. 

“Tom! Where are you?” She called out breathlessly, stopping to put her hands on her knees.

The cottage was of modest size, and had a small vegetable patch out the back. A woman could be seen in the girl’s line of sight washing clothes in a metal basin. She peered over the small fence around the vegetable patch, her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.

“Oh, Miss Georgiana, it’s you. Tom is inside.” She smiled kindly, “Tom! Miss Georgiana for you!”

The cottage was peaceful, and it was one of Georgiana’s favourite places to be. There was a sweet smell of honeysuckle that wafted through the air on a balmy summer evening, and with the orchard and the woods just beyond there was always somewhere to explore with her best friend.  
She had known Tom since she was born; he was the son of the estate groundskeeper and kitchen maid. He was five years older than her, a stalky boy who was quickly filling out into a muscular frame from his manual work with his father. He was inseparable from Georgiana, and she from him. Georgiana had her way of getting into trouble quite frequently, and Tom both brought it out and covered for her when need be. 

“Hello Georgie!” He called, coming out the door of the cottage, squinting into the sunlight.

She ran to him excitedly and jumped for him to catch her, which he did every time, swinging her from side to side and telling her how big she was getting. She rested her head contentedly for a moment on his broad shoulder before remembering the news she had ran down the path to tell him so urgently. She wriggled impatiently for him to let her go, which he didn’t knowing she wanted to be released.

“Tom, let me go! I have news!” She wailed as he held her tighter and tighter.

“Sorry, can’t hear you! Did you say you wanted me to hold you tighter? I think you did.” He laughed. 

Tom so loved to annoy Georgiana, like he would do with a sister. He was an only child, and although Georgiana was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of the estate his family worked and lived on, he treated her like she was. He loved her.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh tom please! I'm begging you. You must take me with you, you must!" Georgiana wailed, sitting up in the bed, covers pulled up to her chest. 

Across the small room, Tom sat in his chair next to the fire, poking it to get it started. Small beads of sweat on his bare chest from their passion glistening against the warm glow of the embers. The light in the cottage was low, but the definition of his muscular physique was highlighted from the shifting shadows of the fire.   
The cottage was humble inside. Since Tom's father had passed away a few years earlier, he stayed there himself and his mother in the main house within the maid's quarters. It was decorated sparsely, but many of Tom's small inventions were dotted around. He had always spoken about how one day he would no longer be a groundskeeper, and his inventions would take him somewhere bigger and better. He dreamt of London town. 

It was two days before the ball, and Georgiana was growing increasingly anxious for adventure and rebellion. She always was, but this time it was of most urgency that she experience some freedom. The ball was her opportunity, in society and her parent's opinion, to find a husband of equal or higher peerage just as her older sisters had done. Georgiana had never acted in the correct manner for her social position; she was outspoken and rebellious, and Tom was her partner in mischievous crime. She had never enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of being a Duke and Duchesses daughter, and certainly refused to act like one. 

Tom sat in silence, smirking to himself at her desperation.

"Tom, please. I know what you are doing. Please, I need some freedom before I'm doomed to a life of sheer boredom." She groaned exasperatedly. 

Tom looked over his shoulder at her. They had been inseparable all of her life, the closest of friends anyone could have. She sat clutching his thin sheets to her chest, covering her breasts. She was the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen, and he knew from the day he met her as a baby that she would be so. She looked at him hopefully, her pale skin contrasted against long dark hair that fell down to her waist. 

"I believe you've already had plenty of _freedom_ , Georgie." He winked at her, referring to the regular casual sex that they both engaged in together. His husky voice rumbled lowly in the quiet of the room. 

She rolled her eyes, tutting dismissively. She always let him annoy her, he had a way of always getting to her. 

Sensing her thinning patience, he chuckled softly and shook his head. He rose from the chair and moved to sit beside her on the bed. He was of average height, with a rugged handsome face and solid muscular body. 

"Very well, Georgie," He laughed softly, extending his hand to touch her cheek. It was rough against the softness of her skin. "You may come with me to the Coach Inn this evening. However, I will not cover for you should you get yourself into trouble or someone recognises you. Is that clear?" 

She squealed with excitement, releasing the covers and leaping to give him a squeeze. Tom groaned playfully at the gentle touch of her breasts against his bare chest as he grabbed her small waist in his large hands. She retorted with a furrow of her brow and a quick jab of her elbow into his stomach to which Tom coughed, winding him slightly. 

He laughed at her sass, retrieving her dress for her to clothe herself. "Meet with me at the East Gate at ten o'clock this evening. It is up to you how you plan to slip out of the house, but remember that it is nothing to do with me should you get caught." 

Lifting her dress above her ankles, she ran along the gravel path from the cottage on the edge of the woods back towards the house. The light was dimming on another late Autumnal day, and cast a beautiful red glow all around. Her long dark hair, illuminated with golden strands in the warm light as it sashayed around her. Her heart raced with anticipation of the night to come; the excitement of normality and a sense of rebellion burning inside of her like a great fire.   
She reached the beginning of the gardens, and the back of the house came into view. Silhouettes of the maids could be seen in the many windows as one by one lamps were lit. All she had to do was have supper with mother and father, and then wait until the house silenced for the evening as they made their way to bed before she could begin her night time adventure. 

She looked back towards the edge of the woods, the cottage was now out of sight but the smoke from the chimney rose high into the evening sky. 

"Thank God for Tom Hardy." She grinned to herself momentarily, before running towards the steps of the house.


	3. Chapter 3

The Coach Inn lay on the outside of the Market Town. Georgiana rarely went to town, as her father said it was "nothing but disease and poverty, full of rascals and scoundrels that would rob you given half the chance." This terrified her two older sisters, Eveline and Elizabeth and instilled a disgust of the lower classes in them from a young age. They had been the perfect daughters of her Duke and Duchess parents; polite, elegant and with a lifelong yearning to find a good husband which they had now done. Eveline had married to a Baron, and Elizabeth to a Naval Commander. They always complained about Georgiana's behaviour and lack of respect for her high rank in society. They thought her to be careless and reckless, and certainly didn't approve of her friendship with the groundskeeper. They believe Tom to be a bad influence on Georgiana, he was older, and they were suspicious of they way he looked at her. They often made snide remarks the select few times they were forced to be in his company about his low status and how soon their little sister would be married off and she would be far away from him. He would say nothing, but merely smirk to himself that he had been fucking their not so perfect little sister since she was fifteen years old. Many times he wanted to tell them, that his sister loved it, begged for it, and was probably the most promiscuous little minx he had ever met. His sense would kick in at this point; neither of them minded getting into trouble but this would be something neither of them could talk there way out of. It was expected of high born women to remain virgins until their wedding night, and often Tom would wonder when and if she got married, her husband would find out. Georgiana would simply remind him that she had no intention of marrying, but he couldn't help but wonder. 

Georgiana had borrowed a maid's dress and cloak from the washroom to disguise herself. She left her hair down, falling to her waist, as opposed to the usual elaborate pinned styles she would wear to social functions. She looked the part of a peasant girl, and could not feel any more comfortable than she did. 

She had rode with Tom to the town on his horse, Barnaby, who was now happily eating grain in the Inn's stables. The Coach Inn, was as it was named. It was popular with travellers and passers by who had travelled by horse and by stagecoach. It was a lively inn, Tom had told her on the way there, but as they stood outside he had noted how it sounded particularly more raucous than usual.   
He looked to Georgiana, who stool with the hood of her cloak up. He noticed that she was biting her lip slightly with nervous excitement. Tom knew she would be perfectly fine inside, she did not act like gentry at the best of times and would certainly have no problems tonight. 

Georgiana inhaled deeply; a strong smell of ale, horse manure and hay filled her nose and made her stomach flutter. The incoherent rabble of noise from inside swelled and muffled as the door opened and shut with people entering and leaving. She opener the heavy oak door, and upon entering her eyes could not find one place to settle. They darted backwards and forwards, up and down, around the Inn. There was a large fire on the left wall, and was lit by many candles; an orange glow hung around the room and settled like a fog above her. 

Tom grabbed her wrist from behind, distracting her, "Do not wander on your own, Georgie." He growled, spitting his words slightly. 

She turned to face him, wriggling his wrist free from his tight grasp and wincing as he had twisted it slightly. "Tom, I will be fine. It's me, after all!" She winked mischievously. 

He looked at her for several moments. He watched her clutching her wrist, not realising he had hurt her initially. Some times his strength and anger got the better of him, but she knew not to fight back and to let him come to his senses.

He smiled softly, realising that she would indeed be alright. She was in her element, who was he to baby her. "Well, do not wander too far then." 

In the corner of the room, a man was standing on a table making what seemed to be a rallying speech about something to which A crowd had gathered and were cheering and shouting words of agreement. Georgiana wondered what it could be about, but continued to walk to the bar taking the other sights and sounds in as she walked. Noise swarmed around her, from no particular area, but seemed to circle all around her. It was intensely disorientating but satisfying at the same time. 

At the bar she asked the barman for ale with great excitement and handed him the coin he required. She kept her hood up and made sure she made little eye contact, and toned down the elocution of her words. She faced out from the bar with ale proudly in hand and could see Tom by the fire talking to some men. He looked over to her and they exchanged nods. She shuffled the straw beneath her feet happily that had been trailed in and out from the stables, she assumed. She looked back to the corner where the speech had been happening, only to find it had now ended and the gentleman a top the table was no longer there. Nevertheless, there were many other interesting scenarios happening around her which she could happily watch. 

"Your finest Ale, if you please, bar keep." A voice broke her chain of thought from beside her. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Georgiana could make out a tall figure appearing to be dressed in black although it was hard to tell in the light. She turned to face the figure, observing that it was a tall, slender gentleman who was dressed exceptionally well for being in the Coach Inn.   
He looked at Georgiana, and with a polite smile he nodded his head. 

"Was that you? A top that table in the corner when I entered? What were you giving a speech on?" She enquired curiously. 

The gentleman looked at her for a few moments in her hooded cloak and chuckled at her bold nature. A lower class person would never normally speak to openly and indeed, quite to boldly to gentry. Her head was tilted slightly to the side in an inquisitive manner as he watched her eyes study him. 

He took a sip if his ale and turned to face her. "Indeed it was. I am spreading some excellent news from London." 

London? Georgiana thought to herself. That was quite a way to travel just to tell some good news. She looked at him more intently now, taking in fine details and analysing them. He stood very tall and slender too, dark hair slicked back from his sharp face. His clothing was dark but beautifully tailored, which Georgiana instantly recognised as some form of wealth or status. He spoke elegantly and with perfect elocution, and with a wonderful London accent. 

"Well, you have travelled quite a bit from London if you are merely telling some good news! This Inn doesn't seem like the right place for a member of the gentry to enjoy." She probed further, her eyes narrowing. 

"I could say the same for you." A small smirk curled upon the corner of his mouth. He looked at the young woman before him. Everything about her presence suggested she was a peasant girl from the town, and her behaviour was similar. But there was something about her. Something he couldn't quite place about her that suggested otherwise. She spoke exceptionally well for someone of seemingly low status. "Are you from the town?"

"Close by." She replied quickly. "What's your name?" 

Georgiana moved closer to him, looking at his beautiful clothing in more detail. She delicately toucher the fabric of his cloak with her fingertips before moving them to his silk shirt beneath. She moved her eyes up to meet his, and studied his face. 

The gentleman was initially taken back at her action, and how brash she had been. He pondered over whether she was a harlot, or perhaps a pickpocket? But it would have become more clear by now. He permitted her to continue, becoming just as curious as she was. 

Below her cloak hood, he could see most of her face. She was younger than him, perhaps by ten years or so. Her skin was pale and soft looking, like fresh snowfall in winter. Large emerald eyes glinted mischievously through the dark of the hood, framed by long flowing dark hair.   
He touched her fingertips lightly for a moment before returning them to his ale. 

"I will make a deal with you. What if you were to tell me yours, I will tell you mine?" He voice was low and clear. He had bowed his head down lower to hers. 

"Oh," Georgiana laughed lightly. "I do not give my name to tall strangers from London town, I'm afraid." 

The gentleman grinned and begin to reply when a large hand suddenly pulled Georgiana's away from him. She turned to see Tom standing, scowling at her with a furrowed brow. He was shorter than the gentleman but of a much stronger build. They eyed each other for a few moments before Georgiana pulled her hand back from him sharply. 

"Come, sister." Tom exaggerated. "It is time to return home now."

His voice was warning and low, and spoke as though through gritted teeth. Georgiana frowned, confused by his action. She looked back to the gentleman who had an equally confused face, but was slightly tainted with uncertainty. Before she could say anything, she found herself being pulled towards the door by her arm. She looked back to the gentleman by the bar, who looked back in silent disbelief. 

The fresh air outside cleared Georgiana's lungs instantly from the ale smog of the Inn. Horses grumbled softly in the stable to the side. Tom still had a firm grip of her arm and was pulling her back to Barnaby. 

She wriggled free as she had done earlier, holding her arm. "Tom!" She hissed. "What on Earth is the matter with you? You forget yourself!" 

"You, Georgie! You are the matter. What did you think you were doing speaking to someone like that? I think it is you who forgets herself!" He growled at her, untying Barnaby from his post. 

"Speaking to someone like what? Someone like me? I am old enough to take care of myself." Georgiana stamped her foot angrily at him, as Barnaby whinnied uneasily at the disturbance. 

"If you can take care of yourself, why were you so insistent of accompanying me this evening? You are obviously so perfectly capable of coming on your own, which you can do from now on. Georgiana, for Heaven's sake, he was Gentry! He might have recognised you. Then what might have happened?" Tom turned to face her, spitting his words in frustration. 

She remained silent. She didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was from London and could not possibly have known her, nor was she likely to see him again. In that moment, a slight sadness filled her at that thought. The stranger she was intrigued by and in turn was intrigued by her would remain just that, as a stranger. 

"Take me home, please." She sighed, exhaustedly. 

Tom went to retort, still enraged by her carelessness but as he went to do so he looked at her face and saw the sadness in her eyes. He said nothing, and helped her on to Barnaby to return back to the Balfour family estate.


	4. Chapter 4

Georgiana hadn't seen Tom since two nights previous, after his outburst when leaving the Coach Inn. They had rode back to the Estate in an uneasy silence; Tom feeling half enraged and half guilty and Georgiana with a sadness about her stranger from London. She had left him at the gate with not so much as a goodbye and snuck back through the house to her room without being caught. 

It was the day of the Grand Ball. It was taking place an hour's ride by Coach away, at the home of an Admiral and his wife who were dear friends of Georgiana's mother and father. Georgiana's mother had said it would be the highlight of the peer's calendar and anyone who was worthy of high status would be there. In her opinion, a perfect opportunity for her youngest daughter to finally find herself a noble husband. 

"Her face is pale enough, Jane. I don't think we will use powder. Put some rouge on her lips and cheeks though, we don't want her looking like a corpse." Duchess Beth Balfour called to the maid across the room who was readying Georgiana. 

"Not too much please, Jane. I like looking like a corpse." Georgiana whispered. Jane giggled and nodded. She was a shy, young girl who had been one of their maids for a few years. 

Her mother was now ready for the ball. Her hair had been pinned up high in an elaborate style, that she was regularly known to wear. She wore a huge sapphire blue dress, covered in ruffles and frills. Her large bosom spilled out over her chemise. 

"Now, Gee. You are twenty one and it truly is imperative that you make a good impression this evening if we are to find you a husband. I married your Father at seventeen, your sister Elizabeth at eighteen and Eveline at sixteen so you must get a move on. Gentleman don't want an old bride, my darling." She stood behind Georgiana, tightening her corset. 

Georgiana looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair had been pinned up revealing her slender neck and defined collarbones. She got her large breasts from her mother, which will spilling out of her tight corset. By her own admission, she was incredibly desirable but she herself lacked the desire to be a wife. She had always loved the attention of men, certainly, and was never short of attention for that matter. The thought of marriage just did not appeal to her, and she so wished her family could understand. 

"I think I shall wear the lilac dress." She smiled to her mother in the mirror. 

***

Georgiana sat slumped in her chair in the grand hall, fanning herself furiously. She was sitting with three other young Ladies, buy the names of Lady Lydia Atheridge who was a pompous brat and Ladies Henrietta and Grace Chester, immature twins who Georgiana believed to be incapable of doing anything without the other. 

The hall was bustling with gentry in their finery; Jewels on necks and chandeliers sparked everywhere she looked, and chamber music played below the murmur of all the voices. Her mother had been correct about one thing, certainly, that indeed anyone who was anyone was here. She could see Dukes and Duchesses, Barons and Baronets, Marquesses and Marquisettes, Lords and Ladies, and all high ranking titles of the Navy.   
Her mother and father had left her at this table with the other unmarried Ladies, which Georgiana felt a bit like last hope corner.   
She could see gentleman looking at her and discussing amongst themselves, but none looked of any interest to her, and some were double her age. 

"Isn't this all exceptionally exciting, Ladies? I wonder who will ask me to dance!" Lady Lydia exclaimed, fanning herself. She sat perched on her seat with her beak-like nose in the air, hoping to catch the attention of a suitor. Georgiana rolled her eyes, she looked more like a peacock. 

"Isn't this all exceptionally boring?" Georgiana muttered to her, slumping further in her seat. She was hot in her dress, and the sounds of the Chester twins giggling amongst themselves was irritating her. 

Lady Lydia sniffed with disapproval. She narrowed her eyes, "You know, Lady Balfour, with that sort of attitude it truly is no wonder why you are still unmarried at twenty one." 

Georgiana scoffed. "Fine. Watch this, Ladies. I'll show you how to get a suitor's attention." 

She sat up in her chair in a very demure pose. She lifted her fan to hide most of her face, other than her eyes. In the direction of a group of mostly older gentleman who had been watching them all night, she gave them a mischievous wink and ran her fingertips along her chest. 

Lady Atheridge choked in disbelief and the group of men began to mutter "Oh, I say" in disapproval like a group of pot-bellied pigs. A tall gentleman at the back of the group, of whom Georgiana could not quite make out his face, looked as though he had bowed his head in laughter. 

Georgiana smirked at Lady Lydia before getting up, muttering "Oh, I say" mockingly to herself. She crossed the hall, smiling politely and curtseying to guests she knew through her parents. She found her father standing looking over the ball, and went to stand with him. Duke Arthur Balfour was a portly gentleman with a kind, red face. His eyes sparkled, and Georgiana truly loved him. 

"Hello Father." She smiled, kissing his cheek lightly. 

"My darling Gee. Why are you not at the table we left you at?" He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. 

"Father, if I left you at a table with Lady Atheridge and the giggle twins you too would escape." She groaned. 

She saw her father trying to sur press a laugh, before clearing his throat. Her father had always been sympathetic to her lack of interest in marriage, but nonetheless it was a necessity. 

"Now, darling, I know that you are not interested..." Georgiana zoned out of her father's impending lecture about what was right and necessary and scanned around the room. "...I hope you understand, Gee. Oh! Lord Hiddleston! A pleasure to see you again. How is London?"

London? Georgiana looked back to her father and the gentleman he was now speaking with. Tall, slender and impeccably dressed. She looked up to a familiar sharp face and dark hair. It was the gentleman from the Coach Inn! And he was a Lord. But he was grinning. He recognised her. 

"Ah, Lord Hiddleston. This is my youngest daughter, Lady Georgiana Balfour. Georgiana, Lord Hiddleston is a very promising Politician from London. For the Whigs nonetheless, but you can't have it all!" Her father laughed raucously. 

"Lord Hiddleston." She curtseyed politely, avoiding eye contact. "Father, if I may be excused I would like to return to my fellow Ladies now." 

"Ah, yes of course. I am glad my conversation convinced you!" Her father smiled broadly. 

She had no idea what he was talking about, and was most likely from when she wasn't listening to him. As she turned to go, she caught Lord Hiddleston's eye, who was smirking at the corner of his mouth.   
She weaved her way through the crowds, amongst enormous dresses and pompous "Oh, ya"'s along the way until she was safely out of her father's line of sight. She headed out into the Gardens, which she had heard in passing that "Capability Brown himself had designed!", her mother would be green with envy. She sat on the edge of the fountain in the centre of the courtyard. It was quiet out here, just the sound of running water and the distant hum of the noise inside. She closed her eyes for a few moments, sighing. She thought of Tom, and began to feel guilty now that he was right. Lord Hiddleston knew her father, and could quite easily have recognised her. She should apologise to him when she returns home, she thought. Afterall, she did have so much to tell him of the ball. How they did love to laugh at the pomp and circumstance of it all. 

"Ah, Lady Balfour. We should stop running into one and other, people may talk you know." A voice broke her quiet contemplation. 

She looked over her shoulder to see Lord Hiddleston standing a few feet away, hands clasped behind his back. He bowed his head elegantly as a greeting. 

"Oh, you again." She groaned, rolling her eyes. "Well, then you should know that you should not be speaking to an unmarried woman unchaperoned." She turned her head away from him. 

He chuckled lightly. "I did not think you cared highly for social etiquette, Lady Balfour, considering only two nights previous you were posing as a peasant girl in the Coach Inn." 

She narrowed her eyes, refusing to rise to his teases. "Perhaps we should stop running into one and other, anyone might think you are following me." 

She turned her head sharply to him, before standing and beginning to walk away. 

"What If I said I am?" He asked, hands still clasped behind his back taking a side step to stand in front of her. 

She looked at him. She couldn't deny it, how incredibly handsome he was. Perhaps the most handsome man at the ball! Sharp cheekbones and nose, and beautiful blue eyes. The ends of his dark, slicked back hair curled slightly at the top of his shirt collar. 

Silently, she moved out the way of him again and continued walking without looking back. She darted her eyes to the right, checking no one from the house was looking as she began walking towards the maze in the grounds. 

"Did I cause you offence, Lady Balfour?" Lord Hiddleston asked as he walked quickly to catch up with her, although it only took a few strides of his long legs to do so. 

She grinned to herself and turned sharply to face him. "Don't you know when you are supposed to follow someone, Lord Hiddleston, or do you only do it when you are unwanted?" 

She turned away again, quickening her pace and entered the maze. It was dark, now. She couldn't see too far in front of her, so she knew she would need to be careful as not to get lost. Although, having listened to her mother's drivel about Capability Brown, she was sure she knew his maze designs like the back of her hand. 

Behind her, Lord Thomas Hiddleston followed quickly, checking behind him every so often. The scandal it would cause if it was found out that they were alone together would be unimaginable. Yet, something about it excited him so. Lady Balfour wasn't far up ahead, he could just make out her lilac dress against the contrast of the dark hedges. He followed her around corner after corner, forever winding and twisting until suddenly, he found himself alone in what appeared to be the centre of the maze.   
It was a square area with a small water feature in the middle. It was almost pitch black now, and the hum of the ball was almost impossible to hear. 

"Close your eyes, Lord Hiddleston." A voice whispered. Doing so, he turned, unable to tell where it was coming from. He grinned, feeling a nervous excitement circle around his stomach. 

"You certainly like to play games, Lady Georgiana." He whispered back. 

Silence. 

Georgiana watched him, from round one of the hedges. Near silently she crept up to him and pushed him back against a hedgerow. Leaning up, she pressed her lips against his. His body seemed to tense entirely, as though out if both shock and intrigue. After a moment, she felt his lips reciprocate, and they back to kiss more deeply and passionately. His lips were soft, and he was wearing a light smelling fragrance on his neck which made Georgiana's heart flutter with excitement when she inhaled. She felt his tongue enter her mouth very gently, and touching it with her own she let out a soft moan of pleasure. His hands moved onto her tiny waist as she began kissing his neck, and moving up, she nibbled his earlobe ever so slightly. He groaned quietly in response, his eyes still shut. 

"Keep your eyes closed until I tell you." Georgiana whispered with a grin. 

Stepping back silently, she watched him so as to make sure he didn't look. And with that she quickly turned and ran her way back out of the maze, leaving him standing with his eyes shut. 

She ran back to the house giggling the whole way about her not-so-stranger from London.


End file.
